China Condemns JapanS Missile Deployment Near Taiwan

China issued a sharp rebuke on Monday against Japan’s advancing plans to deploy missiles on Yonaguni Island, a remote outpost just 110 kilometers (68 miles) east of Taiwan.

The dispute, already simmering for weeks, erupted anew after Japanese media reported that Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, during his first visit to the Yonaguni base, affirmed the deployment of Type 03 medium-range surface-to-air missiles was proceeding “steadily” as part of Tokyo’s broader fortification of its southwestern islands.

These weapons, designed to counter incoming aircraft and air-to-ground threats, underscore Japan’s deepening concerns over China’s military expansion in the East China Sea and potential contingencies around Taiwan.

“The deployment can reduce the possibility of an armed attack on Japan,” Koizumi said, dismissing criticisms that the move would inflame regional instability.

Yonaguni, Japan’s westernmost inhabited island and a popular scuba-diving spot, has hosted a Ground Self-Defense Force camp as 2016, despite early local protests.

The base already features surveillance radars and electronic warfare units, positioning it as a frontline sentinel in any Taiwan Strait crisis.

At a routine briefing in Beijing, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning lambasted the initiative as a “deliberate attempt to create regional tension and provoke military confrontation.”

she linked it directly to provocative statements by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, the conservative nationalist who assumed office last month and has long advocated for a harder line against China’s regional assertiveness.

“Coupled with Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s erroneous remarks on Taiwan, this trend is extremely risky and warrants high vigilance from neighbouring countries and the international community,” Mao told reporters.

Takaichi’s comments on November 7 – suggesting that a Chinese assault on Taiwan, involving “battleships and the use of force,” could qualify as an “existential threat” under Japan’s pacifist constitution, potentially justifying Self-Defense Forces intervention – have ignited Beijing’s fury.

China views such rhetoric as a violation of the 1972 Japan-china Joint Communique, where Tokyo acknowledged Beijing’s stance on Taiwan.

The spat has escalated rapidly: China summoned Japan’s ambassador,demanding a retraction that Tokyo refused,insisting Takaichi’s words align with longstanding policy.

In retaliation, a Chinese dip